


Art is Chaos

by CosmicCove



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: ADHD Coded Character, Angst, Bradley has ADHD my world now., Bradley's POV, Child Neglect, Crying, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I didn't really proof read this very much either sorry, Jealousy (I guess?), M/M, Not Beta Read, POV Third Person Limited, Passive-aggression, Slow Burn, but ya know!, generally mean stuff because of Bradley at the beginning, more like rivals than enemies, one sided rivalry at that, the boys are emotional
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24794542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicCove/pseuds/CosmicCove
Summary: Bradley gets partnered up with Milo on an art project, and prepares himself for failure.  However, he finds it's not as bad as he thought it'd be.
Relationships: Amanda Lopez & Milo Murphy, Bradley Nicholson & Mort Schaeffer, Melissa Chase & Milo Murphy, Melissa Chase & Milo Murphy & Zack Underwood, Melissa Chase & Zack Underwood, Milo Murphy & Zack Underwood, Milo Murphy/Bradley Nicholson, implied Amanda Lopez/Milo Murphy near the beginning
Comments: 20
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I ran out of Bradilo content, so I'm making my own! I know the 'they get partnered up on a project' thing is done a lot, but I just wanted to write an art project one because my favorite episode is "The Mid-Afternoon Snack Club." I have big plans for this one so hopefully I get through it, haha! *Glances nervously at my last multichapter fic I had big plans for* haha...

"Alright children," Mrs. Morrison announced, "Today we're going to be beginning our unit on ceramics!" 

Bradley sighed, leaning back in his chair. "There better be painting involved in this unit," he grumbled. He'd been looking forward to the painting unit all semester, but it felt like it'd never happen. 

"Speak up, dear, I can't hear you," Mrs. Morrison chirped, always perky. 

"Oh, it wasn't important," Bradley assured her. 

"Well then," Mrs. Morrison hummed, turning back to address the whole class, "I find that the best way to foster a love of ceramics is to make something that you love." She picked up a smiling pig figure off her desk. "This was my first ceramics project," she told them, "I've had students make plates because they liked cooking, small boxes to hold things they collected in, I even had a student make a small bowl of water on a stand for a bird bath!" She laughed. "Very creative. I'm sure you will also make nice creations." 

A girl in the back row piped up, "Can I make a unicorn?" 

"Depends on whether or not your partner agrees to it," Mrs. Morrison replied with a smile. 

"Partner?" the girl asked. A murmur swept through the room as the other students had mixed reactions. 

Mrs. Morrison laughed. "Did I forget to mention that?" She asked. A few students shook their heads yes. "I apologize, then!" she told the class, "Yes, you will also be working with partners for this first project. Don't worry, though. There will be other projects this unit where you will have the option to work alone." 

Bradley wasn't a fan of group projects, but Melissa and Mort were in this class, so it wouldn't be so bad if he got the right person with him. 

She pulled a list out of a drawer in her desk. "Jessica and Daisy," Mrs. Morrison called out. 

A girl in the middle row turned to the girl from before. "We will definitely make a unicorn." 

"Melissa and Zack." 

Bradley felt an angry ball well up within him, but with a deep breath, he pushed it away. He _really_ did not want to get partnered up with Milo, but there was still Mort- he was very much hoping for Mort. He was one of the few people Bradley considered a friend. -And Amanda. Seeing as Amanda and Milo were smiling at each other like they were hoping to be partnered up, Bradley was pretty sure he and Mort were going to be partnered up. 

"Amanda and Mort." 

"Aw man," Milo and Amanda sighed in unison, while Bradley groaned. 

"C'mon, it won't be that bad," Mort told Amanda. 

"Be nice, you guys," Mrs. Morrison scolded them. 

"It's not you Mort," Amanda promised, "I was just hoping to get Milo." 

"Yeah, I was hoping to get Mort," Bradley added. 

"Can we trade?" Amanda asked. 

"No trading," Mrs. Morrison told them, "You'll be able to partner with whoever you want or work alone on the other two projects in this unit." 

"But Mrs. Morrison-" Bradley began to argue. 

"No means no, Bradley," Mrs. Morrison insisted, "I don't like to 'be mean' as some students put it, but if you continue to press the subject, I will have no choice but to give you detention." 

Bradley sucked in a breath. He didn't want his permanent record marred by anymore detentions. Not after that Mr. Blunk (or was it Blunt?) guy gave him detention for being a suck up, which Bradley thought was a dumb reason to give a student detention. It wasn't supposed to work that way at all; it was supposed to get him good with the teacher. But his mind was wandering- "I understand Mrs. Morrison," he replied, hoping no one noticed that he paused long enough for it to be awkward before he said anything. Sometimes, his thoughts ran away with him. 

"So anyways, that leaves Bradley and Milo," Mrs. Morrison concluded her list. "I think today will be a great day to start brainstorming!" Mrs. Morrison chippered, "Partner up, and discuss what you guys want to make together. Tomorrow, I'll teach you how to work the clay." 

Bradley just crossed his arms and turned to Milo, not standing up. "Murphy, you stay over there," Bradley snapped, "I don't want any disasters near my desk." 

"Bradley, I doubt any disaster will happen. A minor inconvenience? Maybe. But nothing catastrophic," Milo pointed out. 

Bradley sighed. "Fine." At least he had someone's attention, even if that person was Milo Murphy, of all people. Milo crossed the room, tripping over a pencil that rolled off a desk as he passed, but besides that, nothing, to Bradley's relief. Milo sat next to him and smiled. Bradley glared in response. 

"What do you want to make, Bradley?" Milo asked. 

Bradley stared at Milo, his teeth clenched, before wondering, "You're asking me?" 

"Well, yeah! I know you wanted to be partnered up with Mort, so I think that it'd be fair to let you pick." 

Bradley wanted to snark _With you, all we'll be turning in is broken bits of porcelain_ but he bit his tongue. Instead, he pointed out, "Well, you wanted to be partnered up with Amanda. Besides, I don't have any interests that come to mind." 

Milo laughed. "I don't believe that." 

"I like reading, but that's it." 

"What's your favorite book?" Milo pried, "We could make a figurine of your favorite character!" 

"Seems a little complicated." 

"Well, yeah, I suppose it would be." 

"Just make the decision for me, Milo. I don't want a reason besides my grades to be bummed out about when the thing inevitably shatters." 

"It wouldn't be fair," Milo insisted. 

"You have a dog, right? You could make him," Bradley suggested. 

"Do you want to?" 

Bradley sighed. "I'm willing to do anything," Bradley sighed, "We're going to fail this thing no matter what." 

Milo huffed, looking, for the first time for Bradley, annoyed. "If you don't trust me, I can sit this one out." 

"No, I-" Bradley hesitated finishing, inhaling sharply as his thoughts raced again. What if he seemed weak if he admitted it? Or seemed like a loser? Or- Anything! He focused himself, and continued his statement cautiously, "I need you." 

Milo looked speechless a moment. "What?" 

"I need you to help me with the project." 

Milo looked like he was about to laugh. "Why?" 

Bradley gestured to his arm-turned-vine. "I can't do anything with this thing," he sighed, "Well, I can hold a paint brush, and I'm rather good at painting with it too! But holding anything thicker than a pencil is difficult." 

Milo didn't look like he was going to laugh anymore. "Oh. I'm sorry." 

"You'd better be." Milo looked hurt for a moment, Bradley knew he had crossed a line, his stomach squirming. "You'd better be ready to help me do this assignment, I mean." 

Milo smiled weakly. He was unconvinced that Bradley actually meant that all along, his expression made that apparent, but Bradley had a feeling he appreciated the effort. That made Bradley think. Maybe, if he put more effort into being likeable (Not that he wasn't already), then maybe the other kids would- 

The bell rang before Bradley's mental tangent could get any further. 

"Alright children, I hope most of you have picked something to make, and I'm glad that arguing was at a minimum today," Mrs. Morrison praised, "I'll see you all tomorrow, when we get started." 

"Want to meet up after school and figure this out?" Milo asked him. 

Bradley felt himself beginning to overthink again. He'd just answer. "Yeah, whatever," he said without thinking much at all. No, no, he didn't want to go to Milo's house! "At my house!" he blurted in a panic. No, he didn't want that either! 

"That sounds like a good idea," Milo agreed with a smile. 

"Wait, actually-" Bradley was interrupted by another voice. 

"Milo, c'mon, you're going to be late for math class!" Melissa called from outside the classroom. 

Milo ran off before Bradley could change their plans, calling back to Zack and Melissa, "Coming!" 

Bradley heaved a sigh, and picked up his books from off the desk. He'd just have to roll with it, but it did make him dizzy with worry. What would Milo think of his house? What would Milo think of his parents? What would his parents think of Milo? Would his parents even be home? What if Murphy's Law wrecked the place? Oh, there he was again, thinking "What if- What if- What if-" over and over again! Repetitiously, he flicked his thumb over the pages of the book he was carrying to math class, enjoying the way it felt, and how the pages looked as they zipped into one another, distracting him from his unwanted train of thought. He sighed again, this time in relief. 

* * *

The rest of the day had gone by flawlessly up until the point where the school bus let him off at his stop, and Milo followed him. "Do you have any siblings? Or any pets? Is your house big?" 

Bradley turned to Milo and glared. "No, No, and stop asking questions about the house, we're going to be there in two minutes! Can't you wait until you see it yourself?" 

"Really? Just you and your parents?" Milo asked. 

Bradley scoffed. "If I'm lucky," he muttered under his breath. 

"What?" 

"Nothing." Bradley stopped. "We're here." 

"It's smaller than I thought," Milo noted looking onto it. 

"It's perfect!" Bradley retorted, "Like you said, just my parents and me. Although, it looks like they aren't here right now." 

Milo nodded in understanding. 

"C'mon, let's just get this over with," Bradley grumbled, dragging Milo inside, "Don't break anything." Promptly after saying that, a nearby shelf came loose from one of it's supports, causing it to lean to the side, dumping a vase and a picture onto the ground, causing the vase to shatter everywhere. Bradley glared at Milo, his hands balled up in fists. 

Milo reached into his backpack and pulled out a dustpan and brush. "Don't worry, I can fix it!" 

"Give me those!" Bradley commanded, snatching the brush with his hand and the dust pan with his vine, where it promptly slipped away from him and clattered to the ground. Milo bent down to pick it up for him, but Bradley smacked his hand away, insisting, "Stop! I can do it!" He ended up dragging it across the floor awkwardly, and holding the dustpan between his knees while he swept the glass into it. Just as he was finishing up, the shelf began to fall over onto him. Squeezing his eyes shut, Bradley braced himself for impact, but it never came. He realized that Milo had stopped it when he'd opened his eyes, and was fixing the broken support with a screwdriver he'd pulled from his backpack. 

Milo asked, "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah," Bradley answered, handing Milo the brush, "Thanks, I guess." 

"Don't mention it!" Milo hummed, slipping the broom back into his backpack. 

Bradley empties the dust pan into the trash. "My parents probably won't notice it's gone, honestly," Bradley admitted, wandering back to the shelf. He picked the picture from off the ground. "At least this is okay." 

"Do you're parents like that photo?" Milo asked. 

"No. Like I said, they don't notice anything." Bradley placed the picture back onto the shelf, taking the time out to center it nicely, and then turned to Milo. "I like the photo." 

"Oh. What do you mean your parents don't notice anything?" 

He could dodge this question. "My room's this way," Bradley told him, grabbing Milo by the wrist and pulling him along. If Milo noticed him avoiding the subject (he probably did), he didn't press the issue, thankfully. He shoved Milo into the room and shut the door. "Stay in here until it's time to go," Bradley commanded, "At least if you break something in here, it's mine." 

"But I thought you said they wouldn't notice?" 

"They won't. Still, I'd rather you break my stuff." 

"Alright." 

Bradley watched anxiously as Milo scanned over his room. _He definitely hates it,_ was Bradley's first thought. 

"There sure are a lot of plants in here!" Milo stated, "I never thought of you as a gardener." 

"Yeah, deal with it!" Bradley hissed. 

Milo gave him a strange look. "Geez, Bradley, I didn't mean to upset you." There was an awkward pause. "Hey, that's an interest!" Milo chimed, "Why didn't you mention that before?" 

"And get made fun of by the whole classroom? I don't think so." 

"There's nothing wrong with liking flowers, Bradley," Milo told him, "So, do you want to make a flower for our project? That'd look so pretty!" 

"If you want to-" 

"No, bradley! If YOU want to!" 

Bradley was genuinely taken aback. He'd never heard Milo yell before. 

"You want me to be honest?" Milo asked, shouting in frustration, "I need you to pick what we're making because the more I'm connected to something, the stronger Murphy's Law affects it." 

"Ew, does that extent to people?" Bradley asked with a look of disgust. 

Milo winced at the phrasing, but then answered, "I don't think so, just projects I'm working on," before he continued his rant, finally not yelling. "If you want this thing to, for certain, shatter, and we fail this project, go right ahead. Be stubborn. It's up to you." 

Bradley sighed. "I want to make a flower pot," Bradley relented, "I want to get a cactus plant, but I don't have a nice spot for it. I think making it it's own pot would be nice..." It was the truth. He had wanted to since the start, but he hadn't wanted to say it. 

Milo beamed. "That sounds so nice!" 

"Okay, whatever, it's no big deal," Bradley dismissed, "Can you leave now?" 

Milo laughed awkwardly. "I guess! I'll call my parents to come pick me up." 

"You can't walk home?" Bradley asked. 

"Not that far," Milo replied, "Why? Why are you so insistent I leave? Do you really dislike me that much?" 

"No it's not that. I mean, I do dislike you, but that's not why," Bradley explained, "It's just that my dad will be home any minute, and-" 

As if on cue, they both heard the front door open. "Bradley, you make it home today?" called a voice. 

"Yeah!" Bradley yelled back. He grabbed Milo by the wrist again. "Don't ask, just come with me," he hissed. 

"Okay?" Milo agreed as Bradley dragged him out of the room and into the living room. 

Bradley let out a breath he'd been holding. "Don't move. Don't break anything," Bradley repeated, sounding more like a request than a command this time. 

His dad walked into the room. "Hello Bradley," he greeted, looking down at his phone, "How was school today?" 

"It was fine. I aced a science quiz today," Bradley bragged. 

"That's nice," his dad hummed. 

Milo smiled at him. "Hello, Mr. Nicholson!" Milo introduced himself, "I'm Milo Murphy!" Bradley winced and shook his head, hoping that Milo would get the message. 

"Oh," Mr. Nicholson glanced at Milo for a split second, "Hello." He turned to Bradley, "Has this boy seen..? You know." 

"No!" Bradley answered immediately. 

"Good," his dad answered, and then walked out of the room. 

"What was that about?" Milo asked. 

Bradley crossed his arms. "Nothing. He was just asking about my room," Bradley explained. Oh wait, maybe that was saying too much? Or too little? "It's usually messy, so my parents don't like me having people in it," he added quickly, then bit his lip. 

"Okay..." Milo nodded slowly. Then his phone buzzed. He checked the screen, before stating, "Well, my parents are here!" 

"Wait a minute, that gives me an idea," Bradley said, grabbing Milo's wrist once again to stop him from leaving, "Give me your phone." 

"What?" 

"We should exchange numbers to work on this project, but there's no way I'm giving you mine. You might shatter the screen or something." 

"Makes sense," Milo agreed, handing Bradley his phone. 

Bradley entered his number in quickly and then handed Milo his phone back. "Don't break anything on the way out," Bradley told him, but he smiled slightly as he did so. Milo wasn't as bad as he thought. Frankly, that whole Murphy's Law curse scared him, but maybe there wasn't as much to fear as he'd thought. 

"I'll try my best!" Milo promised, grinning back. Maybe he knew what Bradley was thinking? Bradley wasn't sure if he liked that or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bradley slowly grows to like Milo and Milo starts to realize this.

When Bradley walked into class the next day, everyone was already seated with their partners. Milo was waiting for him at his desk, turned around so he could chat with Melissa and Zack behind him. When Milo noticed him, he turned back around with a smile and greeted, "Hi, Bradley!" 

"Murphy," Bradley returned the greeting with less contempt in his voice than usual. 

"Alright, students," Mrs. Morrison called to the class. The students restlessly came to a calm. "Today, I'll explain how to mold the clay, and then at the end of class, I'll give your groups your clay. You'll have until Monday to finish, so you'll have tomorrow for in-class work time and questions, and then you'll be able to finish up this weekend. If you need more clay, feel free to come to me." 

Bradley half listened to the lesson, scrawling down notes about scoring and proper measurements. His thoughts wandered back to his plants. He was sure to be laughed at if anyone else knew. What would he say when he presented the project? _I'll just pin it on stupid Milo,_ Bradley thought, quickly amending, _No, no, I don't think he's stupid. A hazard, yes, but not stupid. At this point, I know that much._

Mrs. Morrison added at the end of her lecture, "And of course, after firing them, you may paint them with glaze." 

Bradley perked up. Painting? That was something he could do quite easily! And he enjoyed it too! A wide grin spread across his face just thinking about it. The feeling of moving the paintbrush across paper, the way the paint spread as it moved across the surface it was applied to, he loved it passionately. He noticed Milo glance at him with a knowing smile, but he didn't care. If Milo let him paint the glaze because he had another dumb interest, then more power to him. 

Mrs. Morrison pulled out a plastic box filled with bags of clay. "Alright groups, come up and get your clay." 

Bradley stood up. Glancing at Milo for a moment, he said, "I'll get it. Don't move." 

"Not moving won't make the Murphy's Law stop," Milo laughed. 

Bradley rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just don't move. At least it will make me feel better." 

"If it makes you feel better," Milo shrugged as Bradley walked away. 

Bradley approached Mrs. Morrison's desk. He reached his hand out to accept his clay. "Where's your partner?" She asked, giving him a plastic bag with a sizable chunk of clay in it. 

"My partner is Milo," Bradley explained, "He's waiting over at the desk for this." 

"Alright, I understand why you're doing this, but between you and me," She bent down and murmured so only Bradley could hear, "I think you and Milo could be great friends." 

"Unlikely," Bradley replied instantly, keeping his tone flat to avoid showing that there was a glimmer of doubt in his mind. 

"There isn't anything you like about him?" 

Bradley shrugged. "He's not as bad to work with as I thought he'd be," he admitted, "But I still don't think we'd be good as friends." 

"If you say so," Mrs. Morrison hummed with a coy smile that Bradley knew meant that she didn't think so. 

Bradley let out a breath that wasn't exactly a sigh or a huff, but somewhere in between, turned around, and walked back to his desk. Without a word, he placed the bag of clay on the desk for Milo to see, before snatching it up a few seconds later and shoving it into his bag. 

"I can't break the clay yet," Milo joked. 

Bradley looked at him in exasperation, "Don't underestimate yourself, Murphy." 

"That, oddly, feels like a compliment," Milo pointed out. 

From behind them, Melissa added, "Or a challenge!" 

"Please don't take it as a challenge!" Bradley begged. 

Milo laughed. "I didn't before, and I won't now." 

"Thank you," Bradley sighed, before realizing quite what he'd said. Normally, he'd take back a thank you directed at Milo, especially one so genuine, but after everything he'd been through yesterday, not to mention that Milo seemed to like his plants, he thought Milo deserved 'thank you's every once in a while. 

"Are we meeting up at your house again today?" 

"And let my parents see our project?" Bradley asked back. Milo blinked at him, confused. "I mean- uh- Let's do it at your house today." 

"Feeling adventurous?" Melissa asked. 

"Not in the slightest," Bradley sighed wearily. 

"And yet you're choosing double trouble," Melissa laughed. 

Bradley's eyes darted from Melissa to Milo, back and forth. "Double..? Trouble..?" 

"I think she means both me and my dad," Milo guessed. Melissa gave him a finger guns and a nod, and began to work at the clay a bit. With a nervous laugh, Milo confirmed, "Yeah, me and my dad." 

"Is your dad a jinx too?" Bradley asked, his voice filled with resentment and wariness. 

Milo grit his teeth, shrinking back like he'd been hit. "Um... I suppose." 

_Alright, crossed the line. For the second day in a row. Great job, Bradley._ Bradley frowned and bit the inside of his cheek, gathering up a bit of courage. "I'm sorry." 

"You're... Sorry?" Milo asked, surprised. 

"I know I probably don't seem like it, especially to you," Bradley admitted, "But I don't particularly enjoy being mean all the time." 

Milo gave him a dubious look, before smiling at him finally. "Okay! Apology accepted!" 

"What?" Bradley sputtered, "Just like that?" 

"Yeah, why not?" 

Bradley didn't answer. He stared at Milo for a moment, and then looked away, at the floor, at his books, at anything his eyes decided to dart to in the moment as a million different thoughts crossed his mind at once. Anything, as long as it wasn't Milo. He suddenly felt very ashamed of his treatment towards Milo, not that he'd let it show. The bell's ringing saved him from the mess swirling in his mind. 

"Well, time for math class," Milo jumped up from his seat, "You're taking the clay?" 

"Yeah," Bradley answered, patting the bag on his pile of books. 

Melissa and Zack passed the two of them. "You're walking with us today, right?" Zack asked. 

"Of course!" Milo took off after them with a smile. 

"How is he always so happy?" Bradley wondered under his breath. He watched as the trio left the classroom laughing together over a joke he hadn't heard. He glanced at Mort, who had just finished gathering up his things. "Hey, Mort? You want to walk to class together?" 

* * *

Bradley had to sit next to Milo on the bus ride to his house; Milo insisted. Milo got picked up before him, and was also let off after he was (if Milo was even on the bus at all), so Bradley bit the bullet and agreed because he had absolutely no clue where Milo lived. He scowled out the window at the gray sky. 

"upset that the weather is so bad?" Milo asked. Bradley didn't acknowledge him. Milo sighed. 

After that, the rest of the ride was quiet. Bradley assumed Milo had gotten the message. He wasn't in as bad a mood as he could be, though. He was quite grateful that he wasn't going home yet. He didn't like to admit it, or even think it, but he didn't like being home. If people ignored and talked over him at school, then he was near nonexistent at home. 

Milo gave him a little shake. Bradley swatted away his hand with a glare. "Sorry for touching you, but we're at my stop," Milo told him. 

Bradley blinked in surprise. They were there already? Had he really gotten that wrapped up in thinking? "Alright. I'm sorry for getting so upset then," Bradley muttered, standing up and following Milo off the bus. 

Milo stopped walking as the bus drove off. "You're nicer now," Milo commented, "Have you noticed that too?" 

Bradley shrugged, "Not really. I've noticed that I'm a little bit less scared of Murphy's law now." He took a couple steps forwards and turned to Milo, hoping he'd get the message. 

Milo began walking, guiding Bradley towards his house. "You were scared of Murphy's law?" 

"Well, yeah. It could kill someone or something," Bradley pointed out, "Maybe the things I say or do come off as me just being a jerk, but in reality..." He trailed off. He didn't need to finish the statement for Milo to understand. Milo was already giving him a small, sad smile that Bradley knew was understanding. "Doesn't it scare you?" 

Milo laughed. "Murphy's law?" 

"Yeah. It's a question I've always wanted to ask, but it didn't feel right to ask it before. I think I'd be pretty freaked out all the time with a curse like that." 

"Not really. I'm always prepared," Milo answered, "After all, I made it this far, so what's there to be afraid of later?" 

Bradley exhaled a hum-like laugh in response. "If you say so." 

Milo shrugged, then pointed, "That's my house." 

Bradley's eyes widened a bit as he sized it up. "It's big," he noted quietly. 

"No, yours is just small," Milo teased. 

"My house is perfect sized!" Bradley argued. 

Milo laughed. "Perfect like you, maybe," he joked. 

Bradley glared at him, disliking the sarcastic tone of Milo's voice, but a smile appeared on his face in spite of himself. "Yeah, I am pretty darn perfect," Bradley bragged, laughing as well. Part of him couldn't believe that he was joking with, _laughing with,_ Milo Murphy, but another part of him knew that after getting to actually getting to know Milo for a bit, he couldn't see why he wouldn't. Milo was actually a funny guy, he'd found, and not entirely unbearable with his seemingly eternal positivity and frankly still kind of terrifying family curse. 

"I'm home!" Milo shouted as he stepped into the house. A mesh of other voices shouted back their greetings. 

A man stepped into the room. "Oh, and you must be Bradley," he said, reaching out his hand, "Milo has told us all about this project you're working on." 

Bradley glanced nervously at the man's outstretched hand. He stepped back with one foot in apprehension, but shook his hand anyways. On one hand, it was Milo's dad, also cursed with Murphy's Law, but on the other hand, he was an adult, and you need to respect them if you know what's good for you. 

"Well, we have a project to work on, so we'll be in my room if you need us," Milo chimed, taking Bradley by the hand (he would've preferred by the wrist) and leading him up the stairs to his bedroom. 

Bradley was expecting Milo's bedroom to be a disaster, with broken things everywhere and items strewn about haphazardly. Instead, he found that Milo's room was not only organized and tidy, but it seemed to be built and arranged especially for that. He smiled, both relieved that his work space was nice, and because he actually liked it. It was cozy, seeing so many nooks and crannies that were home to school books and binder full of paper. If anything, the only thing that seemed to be a disaster waiting to happen was Milo's elevated bed, but it didn't look new in the slightest and was still in one piece, so Bradley supposed he was wrong. 

"What do you think?" Milo asked. 

Bradley shrugged, trying not to look awed at how nice it looked. "It's alright." 

Milo beamed, "Thank you!" Milo turned to his desk, pushing everything on it over to one side so they'd have space to work. He turned to Bradley. "You've got the clay, right?" 

Bradley hummed in response, pulling off his backpack and rummaging around until he found the bag. He pulled it out and handed it to Milo. Milo looked down at it, mild surprise on his face, before staring at Bradley wide eyed. 

"Come _on_ Milo! We have work to do!" Bradley prompted. 

Milo smiled brightly at him. "You handed me the clay!" Milo pointed out, "You wouldn't have done that yesterday!" 

This time it was Bradley who gave the clay a surprised look and then stared at Milo. "Yeah, I guess so." 

Milo laughed as he opened the plastic bag and pulled out the chunk of clay. "You like me after all," he cheered. 

"Like is a strong word," Bradley huffed, his tone friendly nevertheless, "Maybe healthily respect is a better term for it." 

"That's better than hating me," Milo said, his smile still on his face, unwavering. He began to press the clay into shape. 

"I didn't hate you," Bradley clarified, which made Milo's smile widen, "I think that if Murphy's law weren't so intimidating, we probably would be friends." 

"Really?" 

"Well, yeah. You're smart and you have great intuition, which are traits I like in a friend. Plus, you get along with a lot of my other friends. So yeah, we'd probably be friends if you were normal," Bradley explained. 

"I am normal," Milo winced, "This is normal for me." 

Bradley opened his mouth, but then closed it again. _Normal for you is not normal for everyone else,_ was the snide remark he was going to make before he realized it applied to him too. "I'm sorry," Bradley said instead, adding, "I'm sure the things that make you seem like you would be a good friend to me are results of having to deal with Murphy's Law your whole life anyways." 

"Yeah," Milo confirmed, his smile returning, however sad. He held up a vaguely bowl-like clay shape, "How does this look?" 

"Bad," Bradley answered, "May I work on it?" 

Milo laughed quietly at Bradley's bluntness. "Yeah, sure!" 

Bradley carefully worked at the clay, gently holding it in place with his vine hand and shaping it with his still human hand. He flattened the bottom and smoothed out the sides. It wasn't much better, and he knew it, but at least it looked more like a plant pot now. The silence he was working in was broken by another one of Milo's questions. "So why do you not want anyone to know you like plants?" 

Bradley sighed. "Because it's dumb and boring, and people will think less of me." 

"What? No it's not!" Milo argued. 

"Yes it is!" Bradley insisted, checking to see if the sides of the pot were the proper width before continuing, "My parents said so." 

"What?" 

"My parents told me that it's stupid and boring, and that other people will make fun of me if they know," Bradley sighed, "That's why my dad didn't want you in my room. They don't want anyone to know I like botany." 

"That's awful!" Milo gasped, "Plants are super cool and so is your interest in them, and if your parents can't see that, then they are missing out on a bunch of fun!" 

Bradley considered arguing back, but he knew that Milo was right. "You know what? Yeah," Bradley agreed, "If they are going to ignore every other aspect of my life, then they have no place to say what is and isn't boring in my life!" 

"Ignore every other aspect of your life?" 

"I don't wanna talk about it." 

There was a pause. "Well, do you want to talk about how you got into botany, then?" Milo asked. 

A soft smile appeared on Bradley's face. "I was doing research about plants because I wanted to figure out how to get rid of this vine, or at least, how to live with it and take care of it. The more I read about plants, the more I started to really enjoy the thought of taking care of them. Eventually, I decided to get some ferns to take care of, and now I have a bunch of things I tend to." 

"And now you want a cactus?" 

Bradley nodded, "And now I want a cactus." 

Milo glanced over at the clay, which now looked definitively like a pot for a cactus. "It looks nice!" he complemented. 

Bradley smiled, "Thanks!" He really didn't think it did, but he was never one to turn down praise. 

A voice outside of the room called, "Milo, it's dinner time!" 

"Well, I guess that's it for today," Milo hummed, "You want to stay for dinner." 

"No, I've got to get home," Bradley answered. "You don't mind if I take this with me, do you?" he asked, holding up the pot just in time as a book from a shelf above fell and landed where it had once been. Bradley ignored it. "I was hoping to work on it some more later tonight." 

"Sure, go ahead!" 

As Bradley walked out of the house, he smiled softly to himself. Milo Murphy wasn't as bad as he'd previously thought, and now that it was on his mind, maybe being friends wasn't completely off the table because of Murphy's law. Maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The project is practically finished... But it isn't the only problem that needs resolved, it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is looooong I'm proud of it.

"Your guys' project looks amazing!" Mrs. Morrison complimented as she passed by their desk the next day. Bradley had worked on it more that night while he was home, referencing the flower pots he already had to make it really come together. Despite the fact that he only had one hand to work with, his vine hand used mainly to (roughly) keep it in place, he was proud of the work he put into it. Mrs. Morrison added, "Find a way to smooth out the clay, and it will look like it was professionally done!" 

Bradley felt pride well up within him, and a quick glance at Milo's telltale grin told Bradley that he felt the same way. For once, Bradley felt like he and Milo understood each other. Maybe not everyday for Milo was a search for a quest for greatness, but he got them often; for Bradley, it was a search for something eye catching to use to be seen. Right now, the best kind of achieving something great was happening to both of them. It was a small kind of achievement, one that shouldn't matter, but someone cares, and you worked hard, so it ends up mattering more than most, so of course both of them were flushed and smiling, looking down at their creation. 

"You did a really great job," Milo commented, taking a closer look at the rim that Bradley had scored onto the pot, "Really! I'm impressed!" 

"Thanks," Thanks Bradley replied, "You gave me a good start." 

"That sorry excuse for a flower pot?" Milo laughed. 

Bradley laughed as well, "It turned out fine in the end, didn't it? Well, except from the faint marks my vine left behind." He traced the shallow outlines with the tip of his index finger. "I tried to get it out to the best of my ability, but I have to hold it with something. I'm getting better at gently gripping things, but even so..." 

Milo shrugged with a soft smile. "I'm sure that you'll get the hang of it." 

"Working on this has helped a great deal, honestly," Bradley admitted. He didn't know why he was telling Milo all this, he was just in a better mood than usual. Or maybe it was that he wasn't being ignored, even if the person listening to him in question was Milo Murphy, of all people. It was a little worrying for Bradley, though, to have Milo know so much about him (Although he knew that, with the way Milo got to know people, Milo probably thought that he didn't know Bradley at all, and Bradley was more than okay with that.). 

He didn't have to worry about it for very much longer anyways, as Melissa and Zack came up from behind them. 

"Very nice, Milo," Melissa commented with a hum of amusement, Zack nodding in agreement, "I didn't know you were into gardening." 

Milo hurriedly corrected, "No, this is Bradley's project, and he did a lot of the work." 

"And the correct term is _botany_ not _gardening_ ," Bradley clarified, "But thanks, Melissa." 

Melissa ignored him. _Of course she did. What else was I expecting?_ he thought. He tried to look like he didn't care. "How much did you do for this project?" Melissa asked Milo. 

"I started it for us, actually," Milo announced proudly, and then, with a shy chuckle, added, "I didn't do a very good job. That's when Bradley took over." 

"I hope there hasn't been too much conflict," Zack stated, glancing at Bradley a second, a gesture that Bradley noticed even though it looked like Zack had meant to signal only to Milo. 

"There hasn't been," Bradley insisted firmly in retaliation, "I, for one, have been having a great time, and I'm sure that Milo has been also." 

Melissa shrugged with a coy smile. "Is it true?" she asked, eyeing Milo. 

"Uh huh!" Milo confirmed with a grin and a nod, "No fighting! Just a few small mishaps with Murphy's law." 

"And Bradley lets you work on the project too, right?" Zack wondered. 

"Yes!" 

"Weren't you listening? He said I let him start!" Bradley argued, feeling a little hurt. 

Zack shrugged shyly, "No, not really." 

Bradley huffed, more sad than angry, and crossed his arms. Milo cut in, "Bradley has been doing his best working with me. Sure, at first we didn't really get along- like we _really_ didn't get along, but we've both made an effort to learn about each other and he understands Murphy's law better now. It's been..." He paused trying to find the right word. 

"Interesting," Bradley finished for him, with a small smile. 

"Yeah, that's a word for it," Milo agreed. 

"So, you're friends now?" Zack asked. 

"No," Bradley replied, and then froze, because Milo had answered _yes_ at the same time as him. 

He and Milo exchanged a look, and- Had Bradley ever seen him frown before? "You don't think..?" Milo said softly. 

"I thought we felt the same on this," Bradley answered back, his voice equally quiet, "I definitely sort of like you now, enough that I don't want to hurt you the way I used to anymore, but honestly, that doesn't make years of dislike insignificant, right?" 

Milo hummed thoughtfully, as if he doubted Bradley, but replied, "Okay." 

Zack let out a drawn out, "Wow." 

"Yeah, things here are really awkward," Melissa agreed, "I think me and Zack are going to go back to working on our project." 

"Okay, alright, that's cool," Milo rushed out with a nervous chuckle. 

"I-" Bradley started, then stopped talking, not knowing what to say. 

"It's alright. Really, it is," Milo told him, not sounding reassuring in the slightest. In fact, Bradley was afraid that Milo was going to start crying. He didn't know it mattered to Milo that much (or at all). Milo sighed, looking away from Bradley. "I think maybe I should leave a moment," Milo said softly, getting up and beginning to walk away. 

"Wait," Bradley replied quickly, grabbing Milo's hand. Milo turned to look at him, a little shocked and flushing slightly. "I'm sorry," Bradley apologized, "I didn't think you'd even want to be my friend anyways. I didn't think we could be- that I was _allowed-"_

Milo perked up in surprise, his mouth in a small o shape. "Of course you're allowed to be my friend!" Milo responded, almost shouting. 

Bradley paused, a little taken aback by what Milo said. "I don't know how you can like me at all," he muttered. 

"I like you a lot," Milo replied softly. 

"You do?" Bradley asked, "Why?" 

"I don't know, do I have to have a reason?" Milo asked, "I just do." 

Bradley let that sink it. "I think I like that, actually," Bradley admitted, "Being liked for no reason. It doesn't make sense to me, but it feels nice..." 

Milo smiled brightly yet gently at him. "Anyways, the bell is about to ring, so you want to work on it at my house again?" 

Bradley had almost forgotten they were supposed to be working on their project. "Yeah, definitely!" He wouldn't admit it, but he far preferred being at Milo's house. 

"Alright!" Milo cheered, then quietly added, "And I hope you change you mind sometime. I'd really like to be friends." 

* * *

Bradley gazed out the bus window again as he waited to arrive at Milo's house. There were so many streets that he was unfamiliar with. Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he walked down those streets and explored forever instead of going home ever again. Maybe then there'd be more to his life than his flaws. No one would be there to demand that he change or that nothing he worked for would ever be enough because he wasn't perfect- 

"The weather is nicer today," Milo commented. 

Bradley glanced up at the sky, clear, blue, and beautiful. "Yeah," he agreed. A smile crossed his face. He was grateful that Milo had pulled him out of his thoughts. 

"Do you like looking at the sky?" Milo wondered. 

"What?" Bradley asked. 

"You just seem to like to watch out of the window on the bus. You've done it every day of this week." 

"Our project only started Wednesday," Bradley pointed out, "You don't know if I did it _everyday._

Milo shrugged. "I was just curious." 

There was a pause. Bradley sighed, "I just sometimes wonder what it's like for them, you know? The people who live out here, down these roads, in these houses. Is it better? Worse?" 

"I guess I never thought of that before." 

Bradley fidgeted with his hands. Who could he have been if only he had… Anybody. Anybody who would listen. Anyone who appreciated everything he did to get good grades. Just anyone. 

The bus came to a stop, and Milo stood up. Bradley stood up behind him, and followed him off the bus. They began their short walk to Milo's house. Bradley usually enjoyed silence, but he found Milo's silence to be eerie. 

As if he'd read Bradley's mind, Milo's voice rang out. "Bradley?" 

Bradley hummed to let Milo know he was listening. 

"Are you… Okay?" 

Bradley glanced at him. "What do you mean?" 

"When you're at home, are you okay?" 

He didn't want to lie. He didn't want to answer, either. "Why?" Bradley finally asked. 

"The way you talk about your parents," Milo explained, "They don't pay attention, and they tell you that you have to be a certain way." 

Bradley was speechless for a moment, his face heating up. "Well, yes. They are that way," he finally answered, his voice strained, "But that doesn't mean that I'm not okay! I just sometimes wish- wish-" He didn't know what he wished. Maybe he wished they would listen to him, actually _see_ him, or maybe he wished he had different parents entirely. 

"Oh! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Milo stammered. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a portable pack of tissues. He handed one to Bradley. 

"I'm not crying," Bradley argued, wiping away the tears. What a horrible lie. 

Milo smiled sadly. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

Bradley nodded. "There's not much to say, though. You said it all. They make fun of my interests, and tell me if I don't man up people will think I'm a- well, I don't agree with the things they think they can say. They ignore my very existence if I'm not disappointing them, and they're never home." 

"That sounds hard," Milo said gently. 

"Yeah. And I know I probably seem like a whole lot of bad things, but I really just want someone to be there for me," Bradley admitted, "No one is ever there." 

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that anymore, I promise," Milo whispered. 

"Why?" Bradley breathed. 

"Because I'm gonna be there for you from now on," Milo vowed. 

Bradley stopped, his sobs mixed with choked laughter. "I've been nothing but a nuisance since we've met, and now you want to help me?" he wondered, "What did I do to deserve this?" He buried his head in his hands. 

Milo turned towards him, gingerly taking Bradley's hands and lowering them away from his face. "Hey," Milo muttered, "Look at me." 

Bradley looked him straight in the eyes, even though it was difficult. 

"You want to know something?" Milo asked. 

Bradley nodded. 

"Nothing you've done has really been that bad," Milo told him, "In fact, I think a lot of the things you tease me over is really funny. I don't even mind that much when you call me the j word." 

"The j word?" 

Milo whispered it as if it were a taboo, _"Jinx."_

"Ah, didn't realize that was a bad word." 

Milo laughed quietly. "It is in my household." 

Bradley also laughed, his tears drying. "Hey Milo?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I want to be your friend." 

His eyes lighting up instantly, Milo beamed. It was a contagious smile, and Bradley had a large smile on his face too after seeing it. "I knew I could do it!" Milo cheered, "I knew I could be your friend!" 

Bradley chuckled. "Yup. You got me." 

Milo threw his arms around Bradley in a hug. Bradley tensed up instantly, not expecting the sudden touch. Milo pulled away quickly, his face flushed, "Sorry! Sorry! I should have asked." 

"It's alright," Bradley assured him. He opened his arms back up. Milo's smile widened even more somehow, and he accepted Bradley's offer. It was nice. Bradley had been hugged before, but not like this, not like he was being protected. It made him feel content and safe, and he hugged back softly. Bradley realized he didn't want to let go when it was over, but he knew he couldn't make it last forever. 

"C'mon, we gotta get home before my parents get worried," Milo told him. 

Bradley nodded. Usually he'd sulk that his parents probably wouldn't be worried if he came home late, if they were even home at all, but right now he just felt grateful that there were good parents in the world at all. 

"You think you can stay for dinner this time?" Milo asked. 

Bradley hummed, "Mhm." 

"So you got permission this time?" 

"I never said I needed permission, I just said I needed to get home. I had to walk," Bradley explained, "I wanted to get home before dark so my parents wouldn't be concerned. They hadn't even noticed, though, so I don't care anymore." 

"Oh." 

The pair walked up to the house and stepped inside. "Oh, if it isn't Bradley!" Bridgette greeted, "Milo has told us a lot about you!" 

"He has?" Bradley asked cautiously. 

Milo laughed, "All good things, I promise!" 

"Well, I know you boys have work to do, so I'll let you get to it. Want any snacks?" she asked. 

"No, that's okay," Bradley mumbled with a nervous smile, "Thank you." 

"I want a snack!" Milo chippered. 

"Cookies and lemonade?" she asked. 

"Yes!" Milo cheered. 

"I'll bring it up to you guys," Bridgette informed them, turning away to the kitchen, "Have fun!" 

"Not hungry?" Milo asked as they both went upstairs to his room. 

Bradley shrugged, "I didn't want to bother her." 

Milo laughed. "You wouldn't bother her! She offered." 

"I guess." 

Milo plopped his backpack down next to his bed, somehow causing a drawer of his dresser to topple out of place and spill an array of shirts onto the ground. As Milo cleaned up the mess, Bradley placed their pot on the desk. Milo finished putting his clothes back and came over to where Bradley was with their project. 

"So all we have to do is smooth it out, right?" Milo asked. 

Bradley answered, "Yeah, I think so." 

"How are we gonna do that?" 

Bradley shrugged. "You're probably going to have to do it," he admitted, gesturing towards it. 

Milo stepped forward. "Are you sure? Even with my Murphy's Law?" he wondered. 

"I can't do it with only one hand," Bradley pointed out, "Besides, I know I used to be all prickly about it- in fact, that's probably an understatement -but you're very resourceful, Milo. I'm sure that whatever happens, you'll be able to keep it from getting squashed or something. And hey, if worse comes to worse, it only took a few hours for me to make that, I can do it again." 

Milo smiled at him, eyes sparkling. Bradley had never had someone look at him that way before, and the nice warmth that filled him from head to toe stayed strong long after Milo turned back to the pot to smooth out its edges. Casually, Milo commented, "We might want to take some of the books out of this work space while I work on this." As if on cue, one of the books tumbled over, but Milo's hand shot out to catch it before it smashed into the clay flower pot. 

Bradley quickly took the book from Milo's hand, and gathered the rest of the books on the desk as well. "You like _Frankenstein_ , huh?" Bradley asked as he picked up the last book, "I never took you for a fan of horror." 

"I'm not, honestly," Milo confessed, "I'm a sci-fi guy. But that one's a bit of both, and it's really good." 

Bradley nodded, "I like it, too." He flicked through the pages, allowing them to slip into each other with a satisfying flapping sound. He placed the books on the ground and slid them under the bed. "Do you think this is a good place for them?" Bradley asked. 

"Yeah, they're out of the way under there," Milo agreed, "Just help me remember where they are, alright?" 

Bradley laughed. "I'll do my best." 

"Boys! Here's your snacks!" Bridgette called, entering the room. The sudden noise made Bradley jump, but Milo jumped up in excitement. 

"Thanks mom!" he cried, running over to her and grabbing his lemonade and cookies. She gave him a kiss on the forehead and Milo giggled. Bradley felt a gross, cold feeling start to seep into his chest as he watched. 

Suddenly, Bridgette walked up to him, and offered him his own glass of lemonade and cookies. "I know you said you didn't want any, but I thought that by now you were probably hungry." 

The cold feeling dissipated back into warmth in an instant, as Bradley took the lemonade and cookies from Bridgette. "Thank you, Mrs. Murphy!" he called after her as she left the room, unable to disguise the disbelief in his tone. 

With a sip, he found the lemonade was perfect. It wasn't too sweet, too sour, or too watered down. After he tasted it, he couldn't stop drinking until he was holding an empty glass. Then, he bit into his cookie. It was a gingersnap, and a good one at that. His mom never made anything like this before. He hummed in enjoyment as he chewed. Soon, he found that his snack was gone, and his tummy was happy. Looking at Milo, he knew it was the same for him. 

"Shall we continue?" Bradley asked. 

"I think we're done, to be honest," Milo replied. 

Bradley walked over to the small pot. Milo was right, the pot was smooth. "I… Guess I have to go home now," Bradley said quietly, picking up the pot. He never thought, at the start of this project, that he'd be sad to leave Milo Murphy's house. Life is full of surprises. 

"Wait." 

Bradley looked up at Milo, hope sparking up in his eyes despite himself trying his best to keep his expectations down. 

"At least stay for dinner," Milo asked, concern as plain as day on his face. 

Bradley put the pot back down. "Sure." 

"I could even ask Mom and Dad if you can spend the night. If you want to, I mean," Milo continued. 

"I would like that, yeah," Bradley agreed. 

"So what do you want to do until then?" Milo asked. 

"You got any board games?" Bradley asked, "Checkers, maybe?" 

"I'm sure we have checkers around somewhere," Milo commented, "Although I'm fairly certain that many pieces are missing. Also, I've only ever once finished any kind of board game. Murphy's Law. 

"Was it checkers?" 

"It wasn't checkers." With that, Milo produced a box from the top of his closet. He placed it in the middle of the floor, and lifted the top off. Inside was a checkers board. He picked it up and spread it out. 

Bradley sat down next to Milo on the floor. He reached in and grabbed the pieces. "Let's see here," he hummed, looking at the red and black tokens in his palm, "We have four blacks and three reds." 

"You think that'll be enough?" Milo asked. 

Bradley tilted his hand and let the token slide back into their box. "No." 

"Oh. Sorry." 

"Don't be," Bradley told him, pulling out his phone, "I have an idea." After a quick search, he found an app that let you play checkers with a friend on one phone. He placed his phone on the floor, and waited for it to download. 

After a gap of silence, Milo said, "So… What's your favorite flower?" 

"Strelitzia," Bradley answered without missing a beat. Then he went dead silent again, flushed. He knew he could trust Milo with this now, but he wasn't used to it. He still felt as if he was breaking a law. 

"Why?" Milo prompted, a welcoming smile on his face. 

"It's just so pretty and orange," Bradley continued to ramble, "I really like how it's petals-" He was cut off my a _ping!_ as his phone finished downloading the app. 

"Oh! Checkers time!" he peeped, picking up the phone and starting a game. He moved his piece, then slide his phone over to Milo. "Your turn." 

Milo moved his hand down and tapped his black checkers piece to move it. That moment, the phone screen went black. He moved his hands back quickly. "I'm so sorry! I- I didn't mean-!" he started to stammer, but then Bradley's laughter cut him off. Milo gave a confused hum. 

"You- Oh my God- It-!" Bradley chuckled, "You touched my phone and the whole thing crashed!" 

Milo looked back down to the phone to see that it was restarting. He also started laughing, both relieved and humored. 

"Let's try again," Bradley suggested. 

"But what if something worse happens?" Milo asked, "What if the screen shatters?" 

"What do you want to do if we aren't playing checkers?" 

"I want to talk," Milo answered, "Can we talk?" 

Bradley smiled softly. "Sure." 

"So, do you like any tv shows?" 

"Not many," Bradley shrugged, "Dr. Zone is alright." 

"Dr. Zone is my sister and I's favorite show!" Milo interjected. Milo jumped into an explanation of all his favorite parts of the show. 

Bradley leaned back, his back against the ladder of Milo's loft bed. He enjoyed this. Milo's ramblings were fascinating. Bradley admired the energy and passion Milo poured into analysing the show. In fact, he found that the show had more to it than he first thought after listening to Milo. 

He was almost disappointed when Milo was cut off by Martin popping in to tell them that dinner was ready. Despite how badly he wished to continue to listen to Milo talk, his stomach growled. The boys walked down the stairs and into the kitchen together. Bridgette served them plates full of spagetti and sent them off to sit at the table, following them with her own plate soon after. 

Bradley had imagined this scenario with his own family before. Everyone seated at the table for dinner, talking and laughing. They all talked about how their day was and what they did. Bradley was lucky if his parents even made dinner instead of ordering food all the time, and he couldn't even hope for them all to sit together for a meal, much less talk to each other. For the first time in his life, Bradley wondered if his parents even loved each other, not just if they loved him. 

"Mom," Milo asked, "Can Bradley stay the night?" 

Bridgette's eyes darted to Martin, who smiled and nodded, and then to Sara, who also nodded. "Of course," Bridgette agreed, "I don't see why not." 

"Yay!" Milo cheered. He turned to Bradley, "We are gonna have so much fun! We're gonna play video games and talk about flowers and watch Dr. Zone-" Milo continued to list off things to do, and Bradley grinned. He liked this. He could get used to this. He couldn't believe he had kept himself from this for so long.


End file.
